Sectors depend up to 90pc on foreigners
Published on: Wednesday, December 17, 2014
KOTA KINABALU: Many of the plantation and construction sector executives who testified before the Enquiry on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah admitted that up to 85pc of their workforce comprised foreigners from Philippines and Indonesia.The Assistant Manager, Administration and Human Resources of IOI Corp. Bhd., Nalia binti Rudin, said her company employed up to 90pc foreign workers from Indonesia and the Philippines.The evidence also shows the extent to which these companies have relied on foreign labour, the Report said.ADVERTISEMENT Ruslan bin Sunman (W86), the General Manager of Felda Global Ventures Plantation (M) Sdn. Bhd., Sabah, which owns 106,000 hectares of plantation land in Sabah, said 91.05pc of their workers are foreigners.Other plantation companies such as Aumkar Group and Hap Seng Group also employed about the same percentage of foreign workers.Although there is still a need for these companies to rely on foreign workers given the nature of the work, there is a possibility, perhaps, even the probability that these workers will one day return to their home countries when the economic situation there improves.There is already evidence that Indonesia has greatly improved economically. If the Indonesian workers were to leave en masse, the plantation sectors would suffer in terms of manpower, etc.ADVERTISEMENT There is, therefore, a need for the companies affected to prepare for such a contingency. In this connection, the report said the views and suggestions expressed by Dr Dayang Suria in her article entitled "Pekerja Asing di Sabah: Isu dan Perspektif" are worthy of consideration. Therein she states inter alia:"Dominasi pekerja asing sangat ketara dalam sektor-sektor ekonomi penting di Sabah dan mengikut sumber terkini Biro Pembangunan Sumber Manusia (BPSM), lebih kurang 80pc pekerja asing bekerja di sektor perladangan, pembuatan dan pembinaan, manakala 20pc selebihnya terlibat dalam sektor perkhidmatan dan pembantu rumah. Ini menguatkan lagi hujah bahawa sememangnya pembangunan ekonomic negeri Sabah sangat bergantung kepada sumbangan tenaga pekerja asing.
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Untuk mengatasi masalah pergantungan terhadap buruh asing daripada berterusan, kerajaan persekutuan dan negeri perlu merangka strategi untuk meningkatkan penglibatan masyarakat tempatan sebagai tenaga kerja dalam sektor-sektor ekonomi yang didominasi oleh buruh asing. Kerajaan dan pihak swasta juga perlu mengenalpasti faktor-faktor yang menghalang penyertaan pekerja tempatan dalam sektor-sektor ekonomi penting di Sabah. Jikalau benar dakwaan bahawa sektor-sektor yang disebutkan tidak menawarkan ganjaran yang menarik, satu kajian menyeluruh perlu dibuat untuk membolehkan pekerja tempatan tertarik untuk menceburi sektor ekonomi utama di negeri ini.Latihan-latihan yang sesuai untuk tujuan meningkatkan kemahiran buruh tempatan juga perlu dikenalpasti oleh agensi-agensi kerajaan seperti Biro Pembangunan Sumber Manusia (BPSM).Pembangunan Sumber Manusia di negeri ini juga perlu menekankan aspek kemahiran yang boleh dipraktikkan di sektor-sektor ekonomi utama seperti perladangan, pembinaan dan pembuatan demi untuk mengurangkan dominasi buruh asing. Latihan kemahiran yang berkaitan dengan teknologi juga penting untuk memenuhi permintaan tenaga kerja yang dijangka akan meningkat selepas pembangunan Taman Industri Kota Kinabalu beroperasi sepenuhnya."(Foreign workers' domination is most prominent in important economic sectors in Sabah and according to the latest sources of the Human Resources Development Bureau (BPSM), about 80 per cent of foreign workers are working in the agriculture, manufacturing and constructions sectors, while the other 20 per cent are involved in the service and domestic help sectors. This underlines the idea that the economic development of Sabah is very dependent on foreign workers. To prevent this dependence on foreign workers from continuing, the federal and state governments need to draw strategies to enhance the involvement of local people as a work force in economic sectors that are dominated by foreign labourers. The government and private sector also need to identify the factors that prevent the involvement of local workers in important economic sectors in Sabah. If it is proven true as claimed that these sectors do not offer attractive financial rewards, a comprehensive study needs to be done on how to encourage local workers to get into key economic sectors in the state.Suitable training to enhance the skills of local labourers also needs to be identified by government agencies such as the Human Resources Development Bureau (BPSM).Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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Human Resources Development in the state as well needs to emphasise skills that are practical in the main economic sectors such as plantation, construction and manufacturing in order to reduce the domination of foreign workers. Skills training related to technology is also important to meet the demand for workers which is expected to increase once the development of Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park is fully operational).